The Limited
"The Limited’’ is a short story through which the narrator recalls the moment in which he saw a man trying to run over a dog. The man noticed the narrator and tried to argue he did nothing wrong but rather the dog was to blame because it was at the wrong place and was crossing the road illegally.
The narrator stays silent and the man departs from the scene, laughing. At home, the narrator thinks about what had just happened and reaches the conclusion he is just a man with no power to save the world or to affect it in a real sense. The story ends with the narrator thinking how the only being he can save is himself. This story shows the way in which we as humans have limited power. It also transmits the idea that we cannot control the actions of other people and we must focus on ourselves and try to fix our own behavior before trying to change the world around us.
Breaking and Entering
The story is a violent recollection of how the narrator killed one sixteen-year old back boy. The event happened one day, at 3:00 PM while the narrator was alone at home. During the home intrusion, the narrator walked to the basement, where the burglar entered through. On the way to the basement, the narrator took an aluminum bat which belonged to his son and killed the child in the head, killing him.
The rest of the story explains the way in which this event affected the narrator and how he was painted as a villain by the media. The narrator was overcame by grief and by the gravity of what he had done. Even though the narrator was exonerated, he still saw himself as a true killer.
At the end of the story, the narrator describes himself as leaving the basement in which he killed the black boy. By leaving the basement, the narrator wants to transmit the idea that he finally forgave himself for what happened and decided to move on with his life.
My Kafka Baggage
The story is a short one and it centers on a dead cockroach the narrator found in his luggage after returning home from a trip. The sight of the dead cockroach prompts the narrator to think about the meaning of life and how easy it is to die unnoticed and unloved. The cockroach may be used here to represent the people who do not have any other person by their side. These people often slip away unnoticed and their death is seen only as a minor inconvenience.
The title of the story is a reference made to the major theme which is Kafka-esque in nature. The narrator uses the image of the dead insect to prompt the readers to think about their meaning in life while also to incite anxiety and dread.
